Poll shows support for LNP strong but waning

Less than one third of Queenslanders think the Newman government is open and accountable, according to a new poll that shows support for the Liberal National Party remains strong but has reduced from its election highs.

The ReachTEL poll of 1123 Queensland residents was taken on Friday night following mining magnate Clive Palmer’s decision to quit the LNP.

The ReachTEL poll found 25.6 per cent of people had a favourable impression of Mr Palmer, 33.7 per cent had an unfavourable view, 37.1 per cent were neutral and 3.6 per cent said they had never heard of him.

Primary vote support for the LNP stood at 42 per cent, down from 44.6 per cent in October and 49.7 per cent at the March election that delivered the party a massive landslide win.

Labor’s support stood at 34.2 per cent, up from 30.5 per cent last month and 26.7 per cent at the election.

The automated phone-based ReachTEL poll had a stated margin of error of 2.9 per cent, with the results weighted by gender and age to reflect the voting population.

Some 36.2 per cent rated the Premier's performance as good or very good, down from 41.4 per cent in October and 51.3 per cent in July.

The government is doing what is right; not what is necessarily politically popular.

In the latest poll, 47.8 per cent rated Mr Newman's performance as poor or very poor, down slightly from 48.5 per cent in October but much higher than the 27.9 per cent recorded in July.

These ReachTEL figures indicate a 19.9 percentage point increase in Mr Newman's dissatisfaction rating in nearly five months, from early July to late November. Over the same period his satisfaction rating declined by 15.1 points.

"My only concern is that every single day I come in here and work hard for the people of Queensland," Mr Newman said outside Parliament House on Sunday.

Voter dissatisfaction with Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk remained relatively stable at 29.1 per cent in the latest poll compared with 32.3 per cent in July. Her satisfaction rating improved over the same period from 19.4 per cent to 28.7 per cent.

Mr Newman said when the next election occurred in two and a half years voters should judge the LNP on what it had achieved. He said the government will have got the economy moving again.

"The government is doing what is right; not what is necessarily politically popular," he said.

'Deep sense of betrayal'

The release of the poll results came as Mr Newman tried to dampen speculation more disaffected MPs may follow Mr Hopper’s lead in resigning from the LNP.

The long-serving rural Queensland MP said he was defecting to Katter’s Australian Party because his conscience would not allow him to serve under the Newman government’s leadership.

Mr Hopper, the member for Condamine in south-west Queensland, argued the move would allow him to better serve his constituents and expressed his dissatisfaction with the LNP’s supportive stance on coal seam gas mining.

Mr Newman told reporters he felt a "deep sense of betrayal" on behalf of the Condamine electorate as Mr Hopper would no longer be a voice in government arguing for the local community.

"I'm here today to express my extreme disappointment, indeed dismay, that he’s chosen to let down the people of his electorate in this way," the Premier said.

Mr Newman said grassroots LNP members were furious as Mr Hopper had previously vowed to serve a three-year term as an LNP member.

Mr Newman has asked the LNP, which swept to government in March with 78 of the 89 seats in Parliament, to quickly preselect a new candidate for Condamine, who would represent the electorate’s views to government well before the next election, due in 2015.

Mr Hopper will join state leader Rob Katter, the son of federal MP Bob Katter, and earlier LNP defector Shane Knuth as the third parliamentarian in Katter's Australian Party in Queensland.

The news comes on the eve of the final parliamentary sitting week of the year and follows a war of words between the Newman government and LNP life member Mr Palmer, who denounced Mr Newman’s leadership and quit the party on Thursday.

Mr Hopper’s defection is a blow to Mr Newman and indicates elements of the LNP are concerned about the government’s direction.

Mr Hopper, who was elected to the former seat of Darling Downs as an independent in February 2001 before joining the National Party 10 months later, said other LNP MPs were very unhappy with the government’s direction and were considering their options, including possible defection.

“There’s about 15 members that are very, very scared because they’re going to lose their seats the way the leadership is happening at the moment,” he said.

However, it is unclear how many MPs might actually take the dramatic step of defecting.

Contacted on Sunday, long-serving Gregory MP and former National party figure Vaughan Johnson was reluctant to speak about Mr Hopper’s defection or whether he intended to remain in the LNP.

“Clearly he’s got it wrong because people are saying they’re not going to let down their constituents in the way that he has sadly chosen to do,” he said.

Mr Newman said LNP MPs would “have a good discussion about all this” at the party room meeting on Monday afternoon.

Asked whether he would seek pledges from existing MPs that they would not follow suit, Mr Newman said: “My people are totally committed to getting the economy of Queensland going. There is no question about that.”

The Labor opposition currently has seven MPs in total, while Katter’s Australian Party now has three.

Ms Palaszczuk said the defection showed there was a “feeling of discontent, not just out there in the electorate but in the LNP as well”.

Mr Hopper said as an experienced MP he would now be able to hold the government to account from the crossbench.

“I’m not worried about how I’ll be treated by the LNP in Parliament,” he said.

“This is a move I believe will be good for Queensland. I will keep the Newman government honest.”